Cross-Border Payment Platform Thunes Teams With Clearpay on BNPL

Cross-border payment platform Thunes has formed a partnership with Clearpay, the U.K. and European arm of buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay Limited.

The partnership lets Thunes offer Clearpay’s BNPL product to its network of gateways, merchants, and marketplace partners, according to a Thursday (March 31) press release.

See also: Paying the World Should Be As Easy as Sending a WhatsApp Message

BNPL adoption in Europe is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 30.8% from 2022 to 2028, per the release, which cited research commissioned by Clearpay showing that 25% of fashion purchases in the U.K. are now paid with BNPL. In addition, it is projected that BNPL will account for 10% of all sales in the U.K. by 2024.

“There are many reasons why this partnership is so important for Thunes,” said Christophe Bourbier, CEO of Thunes Collections. “BNPL solutions are seeing accelerated adoption and strong consumer demand.”

He added that BNPL offerings “also demonstrate significant potential for our merchants and partners: they provide opportunities for revenue growth, enhanced customer experience, and overall generate positive economic impact.”

Thunes says that because it has garnered payment institution licenses in Europe, Singapore and the U.K., it can offer global merchants, marketplaces, and payment service providers the flexibility to accept and make cross-border payments through the BNPL solution.

Learn more: European BNPL Service Clearpay Launches With Merchants In Spain, France

The news comes two weeks after the launch of Clearpay in France, Spain and Italy. By using Clearpay, consumers can purchase the goods they want immediately and make payments in four installments over a brief timeframe.

“In the last year, global eCommerce grew faster than it had in the last 10 years,” Clearpay Co-founder and Co-CEO Nick Molnar said in the announcement.

“By introducing Clearpay, we are giving Europeans​ a better way to access the things they want and need in their lives via a flexible payment service that allows shoppers to spend their own money and pay over time — instead of turning to expensive loans and credit cards, which come with interest, fees and revolving debt.”